


a bright light

by armario



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Best friends firefly and mr freeze, Episode Tag: S03E18, Gen, I want them to be best friends, Spoilers for S3, This is gen. Bridgit is a kid. Victor will only ever want Nora. Please don't make this into a ship, i think??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-04 13:24:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10991823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/armario/pseuds/armario
Summary: Victor wondered what to do. He thought that Firefly was somewhat annoying- she clearly didn't like him, and there was ill feeling on both sides about their previous confrontation. But all he could think of was that she was still a child.





	a bright light

 They are literal opposites. Bridgit, a fiery spark, despises him. In other situations, being wary of a teen girl might be laughable.

 But he wouldn't underestimate her. And no one could argue with science on the matter of what melts ice. 

As mature, uncaring, and frankly scary she is, he realises she is just a lost girl. He heard the whispers of Firefly's origin. While his own frozen fate had been his mistake, Bridgit was like this through no fault of her own. Victor had come from a place of a love so desperate he would do anything to keep it burning. Instead, he failed his beloved Nora and became a monster with an ice cold heart. 

 Bridgit had been timid and beaten down by her cruel step brother. When she inevitably snapped, she became a magnificent, independent creature alight with confidence because of her new power. 

 Or so he thought. 

 When Penguin snapped coolly at Victor to sleep in the freezer, he wasn't kidding. The mansion had a cold room to store food, and Victor had been allocated this space to _chill out_ in. It was a wonderful freedom, albeit familiar, to go out into the warmer world with the help of his suit, but his muscles ached and it felt good to feel the cold slip back into his bones as he rested on the floor. To think he had used to dislike the low temperatures...

 Lying there, he could only hear his breathing, the whirr of the freezers, and a quiet, muffled sound from upstairs. He listened harder and made out a soft weeping. It could only be Bridgit- there weren't enough plants for Ivy in the mansion, and Oswald slept on a king sized bed with silk sheets upstairs. 

 Victor wondered what to do. He thought that Firefly was somewhat annoying- she clearly didn't like him, and there was ill feeling on both sides about their previous confrontation. But all he could think of was that she was still a child. He wasn't cruel, and though he never had his own, he always wanted children to complete his family. He had thought he would be a good father. 

 Making up his mind, that he could stand the flickering fire on the grate without his suit for a little while to comfort a child in need, to prove to himself the cold hadn't reached his compassion; he stood and made his way from the basement to the ground floor. 

 The living room was dark, except for the roaring fire. It cast shadows on the walls. It was warm and pretty, but Victor felt the heat creep over his skin uncomfortably as soon as he entered. 

 "Bridgit?" he asked softly, directing it at the girl curled up alongside the fireplace. 

 She sat bolt upright, all of a sudden. Her scarred face contorted in anger. "What are you doing?"

 "Asking if you're okay," he answered patiently. He wanted to do this. He wouldn't get angry. It wasn't in his cool nature so much as it was in her fiery one. 

 Her face softened a little in surprise, but only briefly. "I'm fine," she answered curtly. The tears running down her cheeks were burning hot and they hissed. Victor wished he could cry again. "You should go back downstairs. Won't you melt, or something?" she muttered, turning away from him. 

 "Not yet," he said, moving a little closer. The heat was almost burning now. He didn't mind it so much. 

 She sighed, but made no move to usher him away. He watched her watching the flames. Her next utterance was abrupt and he wanted to laugh.

"You know that cartoon movie, The Snowman?"

"I know it." He couldn't help but smile. 

"When the snowman is sitting with the boy by the fire, and he starts melting. That scared me."

 "I won't melt yet," Victor repeated. She spoke quickly, and he spoke slowly. He saw the corner of her mouth lift and felt something akin to warmth in his heart for the first time since Nora was alive. Then she started to cry again. 

Unsure of what to say, keen to do the right thing- he thought he wanted to take her hand but everything was so difficult. "Please tell me what's wrong."

 She wiped her tears away. "It's fine. I'm sorry. You should leave, I'm just being stupid."

 "You aren't."

 "You don't- you won't even-"

 "Then _tell_  me," he cut in. 

Bridgit turned to face him. He held her gaze. She dropped it first.

"I'm sick of this."

He knew the feeling.

"I don't want to feel like I'm burning all the time. I don't want to hurt people. I- but I _do_ want to hurt them sometimes, and it's hard to block out Strange's voice, telling me I'm a- a vengeful goddess, and I miss home, and I'm so, so, _ugly_!"

 She finished with a shaky breath, rubbing her hands over her amber eyes. "I shouldn't have said that."

"You are not ugly, Bridgit," Victor said honestly. He thought it meant little, but he said it because other people don't remind her. "You are beautiful in your own way and I mean it. You are..." he struggled for words, he wasn't best with speech- "A bright light."

She smiled, wide and toothy. It was beautiful. 

 "I think we are different," he continued, "but we are both hurt. So I want to look out for you."

 "Only Selina ever said that to me," Bridgit replied wistfully. "You're not like them," she told him earnestly. "I know you really loved your wife." 

 He nodded, finding it still so hard to talk about. 

 "Thank you for being here," she muttered. He smiled. 

 Bridgit extended her hand for him to shake. At his raised eyebrows, she realised her mistake. 

"Oh," she said, sounding sad.

"It's alright," he answered seriously. Fuck it, he thought. He took her hand. His skin blistered, like they were signing a pact. It was she who withdrew, looking at him with a strange expression, like respect. 

 "I don't want to melt so I'll go back to my freezer," he said. "This room is much nicer. Do you miss the cold?" Victor added, curious, but already knowing the answer.

 "All the time. And I'm sure you miss the heat," she smiled ruefully. He nodded, getting to his feet. 

 He felt better. He felt like he wasn't alone any more, and while the hole seared into him by Nora's death would never seal, it was nice to want to care for someone else. 

"Good night, Victor," Bridgit smiled. 

"Good night, Bridgit," he said.  
  
*  
 


End file.
